The History of the Post Office in British North America

by William Smith

Nearly all the settlements formed at this period had within them the elements of permanence, and they became the foundations of the towns, villages and farming communities which cover the Maritime provinces. Until the arrival of the Loyalists, there were practically no inhabitants east of Halifax and Colchester counties. Pictou was not entirely unoccupied, as a small group from Pennsylvania and Maryland had come into the district in 1765, who were joined by a few Highland Scotch families in 1773. But the total number was insignificant, and the two counties to the eastward, Antigonishe and Guysboro, were still practically in a state of nature. They were settled later by Scotchmen who came to Pictou and Prince Edward Island.

New Brunswick benefited to a relatively greater extent than Nova Scotia by the Loyalist movement. At the close of the war, the number of English colonists in this province did not exceed 2500. These were scattered in small groups on Passamaquoddy bay, on the St. John river, and on the Chignecto bay and Petitcodiac river at the eastern end of the province.

By 1787, when the Loyalists had settled themselves, there was a continuous line of settlements along the bay of Fundy from the United States boundary at the St. Croix river to St. John harbour, and with longer intervals onward to the eastern limits of the province. On the St. John river and tributaries over 9000 people were settled. The cities of St. John and Fredericton, and the towns of St. Stephen and St. Andrews sprang into existence during this period.

On the north and east coasts of New Brunswick permanent settlement had begun, the people being mostly Acadians. There were small Scotch fishing settlements on the Miramichi and the Restigouche rivers.

Communication among these settlements was carried on mostly by water. Fishing vessels ran constantly between Halifax and the harbours and coves on the seaboard. The settlements on the bay of Fundy and the St. John river were brought into connection with Halifax by way of Windsor, which lies near the mouth of the Avon, one of the tributaries of the bay of Fundy.

Between Windsor and Halifax a road had been built by the Acadians shortly after Halifax was founded, to enable them to carry their cattle and produce to the new and promising market. The inland settlements along the Annapolis valley had the advantage of an ancient road, made by the Acadians running from Pisiquid, as Windsor was first called, to the Annapolis basin.

The Loyalists and disbanded soldiers settled in the provinces found themselves not ill-supplied with facilities for communicating with one another, but the means of corresponding with the mother country left much to be desired. On the establishment of the packet service between Falmouth and New York in 1755, the mails for Halifax brought out by the packets were sent from New York to Boston, the postmaster of which town was instructed to send them to Halifax by the first suitable war or merchant vessel that offered.

Until the war broke out, there were numerous opportunities for sending the mails to Halifax. The trade returns for 1759 show that during six months of that year one hundred and forty-eight vessels entered Halifax harbour, much the greater proportion of which were from New York or Boston. But with the outbreak of the war, communication with the revolted colonies was carried on at great risks, and the naval and military authorities at Halifax made bitter complaint of the delays to their correspondence with the home government.

With the restoration of peace, an immediate demand was made for a direct packet line to Halifax, and there seemed every likelihood at the time that the line would be established. Lord North wrote to the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia in August 1783[225] that Halifax would doubtless increase in importance in becoming the rendezvous of the fleet, and that he was asking the postmaster general to put on a monthly packet to Halifax.

But other views prevailed. In November, the postmaster general re-established the packet service to New York, and as there were not sufficient vessels available for a separate line to Halifax, the settlements in the Maritime provinces had to depend on the New York service for their correspondence with the mother country. The British post office maintained a packet agent at New York, whose duty it was to take over the despatches and mails brought by the packets for the British colonies, and send them forward by the first opportunity.